WHL Players by Points Per Game in Draft Year Since 2010:
1. Bedard 2.51
2. Cristall 1.76
3. Reinhart 1.75
4. Jarvis 1.69
5. Draisaitl 1.64
6. Nugent-Hopkins 1.54
7. Barzal 1.30
8. Point 1.26
Note that all 7 of the draft players are elite NHL forwards. Jarvis, Barzal, and Point all fell and ended up being draft steals. Cristall has better point totals than all of them.
Cristall is not a risky pick. If anything, he's one of the surest players in the entire draft.
Players with his production are near guarantees to be impact players in the NHL.
Does he have a high ceiling? Absolutely. But I disagree with the notion that he's a high risk pick. The risk is not taking him. Cristall has holes to his game. He has flaws. But so did Point and Barzal, and they were steals. What matters is results and actual impact moreso than just attributes in a vacuum.
|